Tag: Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service
Prisoner escapes during medical visit
(CNS): An unidentified HMP Northward inmate escaped the custody of prison officers last Friday evening after he was taken to the George Town hospital for medical treatment. Police said they soon apprehended and arrested the prisoner for escaping lawful custody and took him to the detention centre. But they did not say how long the […]
Prisoners released to ease jail crowding
(CNS): The prison director has released on licence fourteen local prisoners who were approaching the end of their sentence or deemed to be low risk to reduce prison overcrowding and control the potential spread of the coronavirus at HMP Northward. Another four prisoners from overseas have also been released and deported on the flights to […]
Prison investment plans too slow, says HRC
(CNS): It is no secret that for many years conditions in Cayman Islands prisons have been dire and in desperate need of investment. But in a newly published document the Human Rights Commission detailed the human rights challenges, describing Cayman’s prison system as “overcrowded, chronically underfunded and in need of urgent investment”. The HRC warned […]
Board created to watch over prison standards
(CNS): With the help of experts from the UK, HM Cayman Islands Prison Service has introduced a new Independent Monitoring Board to oversee conditions and treatment of inmates held in custody at Cayman’s various facilities. Tasked with ensuring that prisoners and detainees are treated humanely and fairly with access to sufficient purposeful activity, the board […]
Prisoners on road to rehabilitation with the NRA
(CNS): HMP Northward and the National Roads Authority have entered into a partnership to help clean up Grand Cayman using prisoners to clear litter along the roadside to make the authority’s work cutting back trees and overgrowth more efficient. The prison work crews have all volunteered for the hard and hot but necessary work helping […]
TCI prison boss to take over HMP Northward
(CNS): Steven Barrett, who is currently serving as the superintendent of prisons in the Turks and Caicos Islands, will be taking over HM Cayman Islands Prison Service next month as the interim director, the home affairs ministry announced Thursday. Barrett, a senior manager with more than 30 years of prison experience, formerly worked with the […]
Despite efforts, police lag in local recruitment
(CNS): Trainee police officers are the highest paid of all new recruits in the uniform services but the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has the hardest time recruiting Caymanians into its ranks. Customs, immigration and the fire service all have 100% local staff or close to it, whereas Caymanians make up just 48% of RCIPS […]
Inmates helped to see effects of crime
(CNS): Ten more inmates at HMP Northward have completed a rehabilitation programme known as the Sycamore Tree Project (STP), which is based on the principles of restorative justice and covers topics such as the effects of crime, responsibility, confession, repentance, forgiveness, making amends and reconciliation. Six groups at HMP Northward and three groups at Fairbanks […]
Prison targets specialist areas to help inmates
(CNS): Senior prison staff from HMP Northward will be heading off to the UK soon to take part in specialist training relating to gang violence. The prison service clinical team, forensic psychologist Nina Welsh and correctional counsellor Rachel Whitlock will be undertaking a course on managing gang dynamics in the prison and the delivery of specific […]
Prison transport contract up for grabs
(CNS): The prison service has taken the controversial leap into the private sector by issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for security firms to take over the transportation of prisoners to and from Northward, Fairbanks and the courts. No formal announcement was made to the press or public but the service began the process of […]
Cayman needs new jail with rehab focus
(CNS): The prison director thinks the time has come for the Cayman Islands to invest in a new prison and provide more intense rehabilitation services as part of the local fight against crime. Well aware that public spending on jails is rarely popular, Neil Lavis said it was obvious that the current system is not […]
